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Garage Art

Posted by 141drew Posted onMar 21, 2014 at 4:26 PM and filed under News & Editorial


I don’t do this very often, but Steve is a buddy and I really dig his passion for this stuff… Anyway, I’ve long had a love for Wolf’s Head Oil stuff. I have one of the original 3′ by 6′ signs that hung in my grandfather’s shop that I cherish and I’ve always wanted more, but they are next to impossible to find. And when you do find them, they seem to always be priced around $1200. Rich.

That’s where Steve comes in. Through Garage Art, he just released a new line of “patina” signs that feature an aged look. And while it might be valid to turn your nose at man made patina, it starts to make a lot more sense when the value of the real thing gets out of hand for a casual admirer.

It’s nice to have options.

You can see the full line here.




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Russ G

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Interlake area, Manitoba
I love Texaco stuff. Just can't justify the cost of the real thing so I satisfy myself with reproduction stuff. Looks nice in my garage and didn't put me in the poor house. My Uncle had a Texaco station back in the 50's. Who would have imagined that the stuff that went in the daily garbage back then would become so eagerly sought after?
 
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LiveandLetDrive

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Consider my nose turned up. Here's a better idea: get involved! Volunteer for a local race team, make friends with a local hot rodder or vintage museum owner, take the stuff they want to get rid of and actually have a story for your garage decor instead of a bunch of stuff that is the only four-letter F-word that I find offensive: fake! For exactly zero dollars I have an original track blueprint for a racetrack that was refurbed after being closed in the 70s, an original drawing of a prototype car mid-pitstop by an artist that was a friend of the shop I worked for for a summer, some carbon pieces from the crashed parts pile at a Champ Car race I attended, and plenty of interestingly broken bits that I broke myself. All immeasurably more interesting and valuable (at least to me) and for the sum total of zero dollars and only a few years of involvement. Those classic garages full of detritus from floor to ceiling that we all love? You can't fake that and it would be obvious if you tried. Character cannot be bought.

Cheers,
Your friendly local 29 year old curmudgeon.
 
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ironheadtom

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Kentucky
I haven't chimed in on this forum in a long time, but I still enjoy the site and look at at daily. This topic is near to my heart because when I was laid off over the last few years a was able to pay my bills buying and selling petroliana. I believe this stuff is innocently produced and sold at a fair price and it's cool that people can decorate their garages without spending the big bucks if they want to. The problem is that many dishonest people buy these signs and pass them off as real. Some of the repro stuff is very convincing. Some times you have to do a lot of homework to know if an item is real anymore. Most beginners in the hobby get burned at least once. I think it would be better for all if the manufacturers would be required to somehow stamp "reproduction" on the back, but at this point.. it's too late anyway because the market is flooded with repo signs. A lot of unscrupulous folks are making big bucks on ebay right now. No disrespect to you Ryan or Garage art.. it's just a bummer that this world has been full of scammers since the beginning of time, and it seems to be getting easier for them to do what they do.
 
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nolimits76

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Oklahoma
Some cool stuff and fair prices. It might be worth noting before ordering to ensure that it has the "worn" look you desire. Some of the pieces I wanted simply looked like new signs with the yesteryear logos.
 
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Standard Gas&Oil

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USA
LiveandLetDrive said:
Consider my nose turned up. Here's a better idea: get involved! Volunteer for a local race team, make friends with a local hot rodder or vintage museum owner, take the stuff they want to get rid of and actually have a story for your garage decor instead of a bunch of stuff that is the only four-letter F-word that I find offensive: fake! For exactly zero dollars I have an original track blueprint for a racetrack that was refurbed after being closed in the 70s, an original drawing of a prototype car mid-pitstop by an artist that was a friend of the shop I worked for for a summer, some carbon pieces from the crashed parts pile at a Champ Car race I attended, and plenty of interestingly broken bits that I broke myself. All immeasurably more interesting and valuable (at least to me) and for the sum total of zero dollars and only a few years of involvement. Those classic garages full of detritus from floor to ceiling that we all love? You can't fake that and it would be obvious if you tried. Character cannot be bought.

Cheers,
Your friendly local 29 year old curmudgeon.
Click to expand...


Um Yea, Nobody really just gives vintage porcelain gas and oil advertising away for free. We all have friends who are into hot rods, race cars, ect. With these new "Staged" picker shows on TV everyone now thinks their old **** is now gold and have made a market for reproduction gas and oil signs for a budget minded hot rodder who wants a affordable large Mobil Pegasus in his shop compared to a real porcelain one for $4,500.00 Who the hell cares if someone has a retro looking fake sign in the shop and they enjoy it?
 
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draglink

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Hayes, Va
I love the original patina stuff. I have paid next to nothing for it and I have paid dearly for it. That said, I think these signs are great.

My shop truck is starting to patina. I am helping it...I wash it regularly with scotch brite pad and/or 150 grit. Its a '75 F150. It does not have a panel without a dent or rust hole.

I painted my shop logo(just my shop, I don't make a living out of it) on the side and distressed it to match the patina :

2014-03-18_151439_zpsba946fa3.jpg
 
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beatcad

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Sep 15, 2013
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NOVA
cool stuff. I aint into garage "art". that really aint my thing.
but,....I do have this. i'm sure it's one of a kind. hand painted.
a friend found it somewhere and didn't really want it 'cause it wasn't car/motorcycle related. I traded him a 30's bicycle for it.
of course its kinda car related. the town of LEON is there because of the auto junkyard. I've been diggin' parts outta there for years.
I think all that "town" has is a junkyard and a post office.
I've had many people make me offers for it(even the current owner of LEONS). I dought i'll part w/ it.
IMG_3803_zpscbc73db5.jpg
 
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coljar

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Belpre, Ohio
Thanks for putting me on to that site. I hadn't looked on it for quite a while because most of my stuff is real, but he had a 42" Pure Oil sign and I'd been looking for one for years. My grandfather had Pure Oil stations and my dad threw the original signs away back in the 60's, but I still have the bracket one of them hung from. Real ones sell for over $1000 and I would have never paid that.

Edit: I bought it just now. It's amazing what I can get done at work.
 
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Rdkng07

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Dec 31, 2013
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Who cares if it's a repro. Ya get involved with your local hot rodder and kiss his ***** so he gives you his trash...HaHa, no thanks...
 
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Ryan

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I expected some backlash on this... And I'm totally cool with it. Opinions make the world go round!

As for local hot Rodders, I really should get to know some of them! :)
 
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coljar

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Sune

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Denmark
I like posters for vintage racing events as garage art (see post on my garage thread) Then you get the "old school" look without repro-stuff :)
 
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gricegear

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170
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Illinois
Nice post!!! I have been on the hunt for vintage GULF signs for over a year now. The price on these have gone through the roof. Found some deals here and there but they are pretty beat up. If I can't find a double sided dealer sign, I'll just make one myself and paint it.
 
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sodbuster

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Apr 3, 2006
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I have 1/2 of a Wolfs Head BIG sign in my shop..........always on the look for the other 1/2 of it. If this weather would warm up, I can take a picture of it and post it.


Chris
 
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Falcon67

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Merkel, TX
I'm with #12. I like Gulf items too and once in a while find something small, but re-pop is fine, makes me happy and pretty much don't care what others think. Especially here, like a lot of places, there are some old signs around because we're pretty dry. Anybody that has one want's $22.6b for it. I know a lot of long timers and ain't NOBODY giving anything away, period. Race teams sell their busted junk for extra cash, most don't give it away unless you're a little kid. I was in a junk store the other day and saw one of the little "Unleaded" fuel signs that you'd see on a pump back when. Asked about it, price quoted was $100. Felt kinda smug that I bought one in better shape off eBay last year for $20. American Pickers can kiss my vintage rear.
 
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MN Falcon

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Minneapolis MN
Thanks Ryan. Attached is a pict of "Main Street" ca. 1930s My Great Grandfather's garage is foreground left in this picture. It sure would be cool to have the pumps or the original signage, but that is all long gone. My GGrandfather died just before my Grandfather went to war so everything went to the business partner and lost through time.

I have seen a few of those Red Crown Gas signs go for stupid money, way more than I can spend on something like that. The reproductions are far more reasonable, I may have to buy a 14" to decorate my garage.
 

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kesslerbmw

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Wish they made some of this stuff in bigger sizes, but I'm glad they at least make the smaller stuff. I like bigger signs, only have a couple of bigger signs, and they're rough but original. Would love to be able to buy a repop Pegasus as I'll never pony up for a real one.
 
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MarkG

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Elgin, IL
Time for a working signpainter to chime in on this! :S

There are still real signpainters out there----you have to know where to look. A 'sticker' can't match a nice hand-lettered sign-----the feel and tactile quality and brightness isn't there. A computer will never 'hand-letter'. However, I do use vinyl where appropriate. As there are fewer and fewer of us and people want this stuff and can see the difference, we are finally starting to see it coming back around.

The group we associate with is a loose band of die-hard hand-letterer's, pinstripers and signpainters called 'Letterheads'. We are spread all over the world, so chances are, you aren't far from one, but you just don't know it!

'Do-it-yourselfer's' sometimes try stuff like this, but if you see an experienced signpainter's work in real life, the difference will become very clear! No one has ever picked up a lettering brush and done a nice job without hundreds of hours of daily practice----that's just the way it is. Only the real die-hards have the drive and dedication to the craft to put in the required time it takes to learn hand-lettering.

I've done a few 'vintage-look' signs. Here's one I did for a friend who has a bad wooden boat building habit. Go full-screen to see details, etc. It is all paint with airbrushed 'rust/dirt streaks'. The lighter shades don't show too well on a computer----there is a grey 'drop-shadow' on the 'Moser & Sons' that looks much better 'in real life'.
 

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Westly

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The art of patina-ing can really be an art. Hard to make it look absolutely authenic, but therein lies the challenge! I knew of a guy who got into some really major trouble making totally convincing new old guitar parts.
 
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Westly

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coljar said:
The sad thing is, back in the 80's when they were tearing down gas stations around my town, I seen more than one of these loaded up and hauled off for scrap and I could of had one for free if I'd asked. Now, I can't even comprehend the fact that I wasn't interested in one at the time.
Click to expand...


I can't comprehend how no one was interested in preserving them when they were being torn down, as you would see now. The zeitgeist of that time I guess, whatever that means :)
 
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coljar

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kesslerbmw said:
Wish they made some of this stuff in bigger sizes, but I'm glad they at least make the smaller stuff. I like bigger signs, only have a couple of bigger signs, and they're rough but original. Would love to be able to buy a repop Pegasus as I'll never pony up for a real one.
Click to expand...

Check out Garage Art's site that Ryan mentions. I have a 42" Pure Oil sign on the way and they have a 42" Pegasus.
 
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RC KID

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I was fortunate enough to have understood the value of these old signs when I was younger. I started buying everything I could afford when I was twenty, and that's been about twenty-nine years now, so I now have a small collection of nice original signs. But for those now just taking up the hobby, I recommend reproductions for their beauty and affordability.
 
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twertsy

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I was picking for these old signs up in NE PA last fall and a guy took me into his "shop." Even on TV, I've never in my life seen so many original and beautifully preserved petroliana. He wouldn't let me take any pictures because he said he didn't want people knowing what he had but there is no doubt in my mind he had 6 figures plus worth of signs on 1/4 of one wall alone. Full size lit dealer signs, 6 full size (huge) Pegasus', a whole wall of WW1 era "support the war effort" type petroleum signs, and on and on. After I left and about a mile down the road, a young man who was maybe 10 or 12 years old was sitting by the side of the road with this sign. He had caught it in the creek with his fishing pole! He wanted $20. I gave him $200.
 

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mygarageone

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twertsy said:
I was picking for these old signs up in NE PA last fall and a guy took me into his "shop." Even on TV, I've never in my life seen so many original and beautifully preserved petroliana. He wouldn't let me take any pictures because he said he didn't want people knowing what he had but there is no doubt in my mind he had 6 figures plus worth of signs on 1/4 of one wall alone. Full size lit dealer signs, 6 full size (huge) Pegasus', a whole wall of WW1 era "support the war effort" type petroleum signs, and on and on. After I left and about a mile down the road, a young man who was maybe 10 or 12 years old was sitting by the side of the road with this sign. He had caught it in the creek with his fishing pole! He wanted $20. I gave him $200.
Click to expand...

Good for you too have the integrity and give that boy it's true value !

Kodo's
 
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twertsy

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mygarageone said:
Good for you too have the integrity and give that boy it's true value !

Kodo's
Click to expand...

Well technically, my quick research said it was worth around $400. I wasn't about to only give him $20 though, just not right. So I paid roughly the "pickin price" (1/2 retail) which I believe to be fair. That kid took off across the lawn like he was shot out of a cannon!
 
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Johnny Sivilian

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I'm a big fan of petrol signs and what not. I feel that as long as the repops are made in the USA and licensed (I sell a bunch at swap meets and garage sales), that is fine. I also dabble in hand made signs that one might find in at an old shop - sound horn for service, etc. and find the craft fascinating.

What I can't stand is the line of china stuff selling in hobby lobby. Also not a big fan of backyard knock offs. I see tons of stuff on ebay that would be cool if it was legit, but just because you can screen some logos, doesn't mean you should.
 
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